Os Cataventos

The book opens a window onto the weather wisdom of Portugal’s mountain villages, where every cloud, bird, and stray gust carries a meaning. Drawing from field notes and dozens of hand‑drawn illustrations, it shows how peasants read the sky—counting the shape of a halo around a hilltop, noting the way a sheep’s coat sticks to a plow, or listening to the chant that sends a fog away. These observations are woven together with lively sayings such as “When God wants, all winds rain” and “Summer rains are like loves in vain,” capturing a world where survival hinges on knowing the wind’s mood.

Beyond cataloguing folklore, the work subtly contrasts folk prognostication with the emerging meteorological science of the early 1900s, highlighting how the community’s collective experience proved surprisingly reliable. Listeners are invited to travel through Barroso, Castro Laboreiro and the high Alturas, feeling the rustle of veletas and the chill of a sudden snowfall, and to sense the intimate bond between people and the ever‑shifting sky.